In the drilling and completion industry, the formation of boreholes for the purpose of production or injection of fluid is common. The boreholes are used for exploration or extraction of natural resources such as hydrocarbons, oil, gas, water, and alternatively for CO2 sequestration.
Packer systems are used to isolate zones within the borehole and create a seal between adjacent zones. High expansion functionality is desirable both for open hole and cased hole environments. Packer systems include a mandrel with a packing element disposed thereon. A support is disposed at each end of the packing element to facilitate elastic expansion of the packing element radially away from the mandrel when an axial load is placed on the packing element. In situations where there is a high differential pressure across the seal, extrusion of the seal becomes a concern. One or more backup rings are thus typically further disposed at each end of the packing element in an effort to limit any extrusion gaps to increase the pressure rating of the packer system. Although packer systems can sometimes still be functional with a small extrusion gap, a size of such an extrusion gap may affect the final performance ratings of the packer assembly.
The art would be receptive to improvements in downhole systems including expandable backup rings and methods.